Valentine's Dance
by Heidi13
Summary: This is a Valentine's Day one-shot of Wilson in the future with Ari as a pre-teen that was originally posted in the Love is in the Air: featuring WilSon Valentine's Day stories. As always, all rights belong to NBC and Days of Our Lives.


**This was my contribution to **Love is in the Air: featuring WilSon Valentine's Day stories **by **WilSon Holiday Stories. **I haven't been able to do much writing lately, so I was excited to be able to contribute to this. I am also so honored to be asked to write for this amazing collection of stories by such amazing different writers again. I hope you all like this story. I know it is technically not Valentine's Day, but a day late isn't so bad! I do hope to post my update on my other story soon. It is all written, just need to do some tweaking to it. This story is a little different from the other Wilson stories I have written. I hope you all enjoy this. I know some of you have probably already read this, but I just wanted all the people who follow me to have the chance to see this. I love you all so very, very much. You always have such encouraging words to say and I always appreciate them so much! Without further ado, here is my Valentine's Wilson story! :)**

* * *

"Do you think you are ready for this?" Sonny asks.  
"No," pouts Will.  
"You know she had to grow up eventually, right?" Sonny teases.  
"I know," Will sighs. "I'm just not ready for this."  
"It's just one night, baby. You will be okay."  
"But it's Valentine's Day. We always spend it together. The three of us. And now..."  
"I know, baby. But you knew this was going to happen."  
"Yes. But why so soon."  
"She looks just like her daddy. You had to know guys would be knocking down the door to be with her, right?"  
Will rolls his eyes and a smile creeps on his face. "Sure. Whatever. It's not like you were knocking down my door when we first met."  
"Trust me. I wanted to do more than just knock down your door when I first met you" Sonny smiles, suggestively.  
Will playfully hits his husband on the arm, "stop it."  
"Plus we will be there the whole time. We can keep an eye on our little girl and all those guys who will have an eye on her."  
"It's just not the same, Son. It won't be the three of us making dinner together with Ari complaining the whole time. You making your delicious brownies. Eating them as we are cuddled up on the couch together watching a movie. I don't want to let that go. I don't want to let her go."  
"Baby, she is just going to the Valentine's Day dance. She's not leaving for college or even high school. She is still our little girl. She will always be our little girl."  
"But it's not the same," Will whines.  
"Have I ever told you how adorable you are when you pout?" Sonny smiles, kissing Will softly on the lips.  
Will scrunches up his nose and says, "I am not adorable. I am sexy. Isn't that what you said last night?"  
Sonny laughs and replies, "I say that every night. Not like you ever believe me."  
Will smiles at Sonny and pulls him into his arms, draping his arms over his husband's shoulders. "I love you so much, baby."  
"I love you, too. But we need to go help get our daughter ready for this dance."  
"I know," Will sighs. "It's times like these I wish her mother was around. To help her get ready. To give her a little pep talk. Sonny, we don't know what we are doing when it comes to all these girly things. What are we going to do as she gets older?"  
"Calm down, Will. Can we deal with one thing at a time?"  
Will nods his head and says, "okay. Yeah. That sounds good."  
"We are going to help do her hair and maybe use a little bit of makeup. Not much. I watched some tutorials and talked to my mom and Abby. So I have a game plan."  
"You are so sexy when you have a game plan," Will whispers into Sonny's ear.  
Sonny pulls Will into him at the waist and whispers, "You are too sexy, but we have to get our little girl ready for her first big dance. And we can continue this after the dance."  
"Hmmmm. Have I told you recently how much I love the way you think?" Will coos into Sonny's ear.  
Sonny let's go of Will and grabs his hand. Will takes a deep and steadying breath as they head to Arianna's room to help her get ready for her first Valentine's Day Dance. Will is trying to let all the anxiety and nervousness get out of his system. He knows that his daughter is nervous, too. Will doesn't want to share his nervous energy with her. He wants her to have the best night of her life, so far.  
Sonny lightly taps on Ari's door until they hear her say come in. Sonny pushes open her door and they see her sitting at her vanity with tears running down her cheek.  
"Baby girl? What's wrong?" Will asks, running towards his daughter.  
"Nothing," Arianna whispers, looking down.  
"Sweetie," Sonny says kneeling down beside her. "Please tell us what's wrong. We want to see that beautiful smile on your face."  
"You mean my mom's smile?" Arianna whispers.  
"Oh," Will and Sonny reply in unison.  
Will kneels down on the opposite side of Sonny and says,"is this because your mom isn't here?"  
Fresh tears roll down her cheek as she nods her head yes.  
"I know you wish your mom was here. And so do we. Do you want to talk about it?"  
"No," she says, barely audible.  
"We can't help if we don't know why you are upset. Do you miss her? Do you wish she was here to help you? To talk?"  
"Everything. It's just not far. Why don't I get a mom like everyone else?"  
"You have a mom, sweetie," Sonny says, gently.  
"Then where is she? Why isn't she here? Why didn't she want me?"  
Will and Sonny look at each other, not sure what to say. They both knew this day would come eventually. But they didn't think it would happen so soon. And they had absolutely no idea on how to handle it.  
"It's not that she didn't want you, baby girl. She loves you so much. You do know that, right?"  
"If that were true, then why did she leave me?" Arianna begins to sob.  
Will quickly pulls his daughter to him and strokes her hair. Sonny gently rubs her back as her body begins to shake with sobs. They both wait quietly as their daughter cries, looking at each other and not knowing what they should say.  
After a couple of minutes, Arianna begins to calm down. She lifts her head from her father's chest.  
"I'm sorry," she whispers.  
"For what, sweetie?" Sonny asks.  
"I know you guys do your best. But it's hard not having a mom. Especially for times like tonight. She should be the one helping me get ready. Not my two dads."  
Will and Sonny try not to show the hurt that those words caused.  
"Would you like to talk to your mom? We can call her, if you want."  
Arianna shakes her head no.  
Will and Sonny feel so helpless. It kills them when they see their daughter like this, especially when it is over her mother. Will hates what Gabi's actions keep doing to his daughter. This isn't the first time her selfish actions have hurt Arianna and he knows that she is in for a lifetime of disappointment when it comes to her. And the worse part for Will is that he has no control over this. He can't stop the pain from being inflicted on his little girl.  
"I made some brownies, sweetie," Sonny pipes in. "Maybe we can eat some and then get ready? Will that help a little?"  
A small smile appears on Arianna's face. "Maybe."  
Will and Sonny stand up and grab their daughter's hand, walking her out to the kitchen. They are both thankful that she is still young enough that chocolate helps soothe her when she is sad.  
Sonny puts the plate of brownies on the breakfast nook and grabs some milk. The three of the gather around the brownies and indulge, like they do every Valentine's Day.  
"Would you like Abby or maybe Aunt Allie to come over and help you get ready?"  
Arianna smiles and says, "yes. That would be nice."  
Will gets up to call his sister and cousin over to help with Arianna. After both of them agreed to help, Will joins both of his loves at the table.  
"They will be over in a few minutes. Apparently they both have been awaiting my call."  
"They didn't think we could handle this?" Sonny asks.  
"Apparently not," Will laughs.  
"Hmmph," Sonny pouts. "We could have done an amazing job. I looked at tutorials and everything!"  
Arianna begins giggling. "Seriously, Papa?"  
"Yes," Sonny smiles. "I was all prepared to figure out that curling iron and try my hand at doing make up."  
"And I would risk public humiliation afterwards?"  
"No. Because you would look gorgeous. You don't need all that extra stuff to be beautiful, sweetie."  
Arianna rolls her eyes. "You have to say that, Papa!"  
"Because it s true," Will and Sonny exclaim together.  
They all hear a knock at the door and Arianna jumps up, bounding towards the door. She squeals in delight at seeing her aunt and cousin with armfuls of dresses, make up, and styling products.  
"Well, that was fast," Sonny quips.  
"We had everything already in Abby's car. We were just waiting for your call," Allie states.  
"Of course you did," Sonny groans.  
"Let's get to work!" Abby squeals.  
Arianna runs up the stairs with Allie and Abby following close behind.  
"Hey, Abs," Sonny shouts. "Can you come here for a second?"  
After Abby places everything down in Arianna's room, she glides down the stairs to her cousins.  
"What's up?" Abby smiles.  
"Do you think you could talk with our baby girl?"Will says, sadly.  
"Of course. But what is going on?" Abby asks, concerned.  
"She was really upset about Gabi and the fact that she isn't around."  
"Well," Sonny intervenes. "What she said was 'why doesn't she want me?'"  
"Oh, god," Abby sighs. "She doesn't really think that, right? You told her that's not true?"  
"Of course we did," Will says, exasperated. "But she doesn't understand. She said 'If that were true then why did she leave me?'"  
"My poor Ari!" Abby exclaims.  
"I think she just needs a female to talk to. And who knows what Allie is talking about with her up there!"  
"I will supervise those two," Abby laughs. "And of course I will talk with her."  
"Thank you so much, Abs!" Will exclaims. "By the way, how long will it take for you to get her ready?"  
"An hour. Max."  
"You've got to be kidding me!" Will exclaims as Sonny laughs.  
"Beauty cannot be rushed boys!"  
Abby kisses both of her cousins on the cheek and runs back upstairs to join the girls.  
"Looks like we will be waiting for a while," Sonny laughs.  
"No kidding. How does it take that long to get ready?"  
"I have no clue. But I have a feeling tonight is going to be a glimpse into our future."  
Will grabs Sonny's hand and leads him over to the couch. They snuggle together as they wait for their little girl to get ready for her first big dance.

* * *

An hour later, Abby finally yells down that they are ready. Will and Sonny stand up from the couch and walk towards the staircase. Both guys take a deep breath before their little girl appears at the top of the steps. Will and Sonny are taken aback at just how beautiful Arianna looks. More beautiful than they could have ever imagined. Will can feel tears welling in his eyes. He's sad that Gabi doesn't get to witness just how beautiful their girl is. But happy that he gets to share this moment with his love. Sonny can't stop looking at this beautiful girl that he helped bring into this world. He is the first person that got to hold her and now she is all grown up. No longer the beautiful blue-eyed beauty that stared up at him in that shed. But a beautiful young lady that is just absolutely breathtaking.  
"Wow," they whisper as she slowly descends down the steps.  
Will reaches out and grabs Sonny's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Sonny pulls his husband closer to him and wraps his arms around his love's shoulder, while Will places his hand on Sonny's lower back. Will rests his head on Sonny's shoulder as their daughter just seems to glide towards them.  
Arianna is in this beautiful red dress that hits her knees. The dress is covered in black lace and poufs out at the waist. White tulle surrounds her legs under the dress. She is wearing red flats with black lace to match the dress. Her hair is down with her dark curls falling down her shoulders. Abby and Allie put on a little bit of makeup. Some red lip gloss, blush, and mascara.  
"I feel like a princess," Arianna whispers.  
"Baby girl, you look like one," Will chokes out. "You are so beautiful."  
"Yes, sweetie. You look amazing. Far better than we could've ever made you look. Thank you Allie and Abby. Our little girl looks stunning."  
"You're welcome," Allie and Abby say, simultaneously, smiling.  
"Now we are definitely going to have to keep a close eye on you tonight."  
"Papa. Pleeeeease don't embarrass me," Arianna begs.  
"We would never!" Will exclaims with mock indignation.  
"Daddy. Please! Do you guys have to go?"  
"And miss your very first dance?" Will asks. "Never."  
"But Papa..."  
"The beauty about owning the place the school dance is at does have its perks," Sonny smiles.  
"You two are horrible. Do you see what I have to deal with?" Arianna asks Allie.  
"Trust me. You are not the first one that has to survive these two. You should have seen them at my first dance. They brought you along with them."  
"Really?"  
"Yes. The three of you danced all night long. My brother has embarrassing me down to a science!" Allie exclaims.  
"Isn't that what brothers are for?" Will asks, laughing.  
"No!" All three girls yell out.  
"Get your coat, baby girl. We have a dance to get you to."  
"Can Allie and Abby at least come along? To keep you two in check."  
"Of course they can come along," Sonny replies.  
"Thank you, Papa!"  
"But they will not be able to keep us 'in check'" Will laughs.  
"Ugh. Great. Awesome. How am I supposed to survive you two?"  
"You will be just fine."

* * *

"I can't believe you did that!" Arianna exclaims on the car ride home. "And Papa! Why didn't you stop him?"  
Will and Sonny are laughing from the front seat. "It was actually my idea."  
"Paaaaapaaaa!"  
"What? You didn't think we were going to let that boy kiss you?"  
"He wasn't going to kiss me!" Arianna says, as a blush creeps over her cheeks.  
"I know that look," Sonny quips. "I've seen that look."  
Will shrugs his shoulders and replies, "I have no clue what you are referring to."  
"Don't play innocent with me, love. Both of you get that look when I catch you."  
"Do not!" Father and daughter exclaim in unison.  
"Yeah," Sonny laughs. "The apple does not fall far from the tree."  
"Whatever," Arianna states, rolling her eyes.  
"Did you have a good time tonight, baby girl?"  
"Outside of the numerous times you guys embarrassed me? Yeah."  
"Hey. When the Chicken Dance Song comes on you have to do the Chicken Dance!"  
"No, Dad. You don't. You two were the only ones doing it!"  
"And we killed it!" Sonny replies gleefully.  
"No. I am pretty sure you killed the chicken."  
"Well, at least it was tasty."  
"Ugh. Do you two ever stop?"  
"Nope," the two says simultaneously. Then they look at each other and laugh.  
"You also didn't have to dance to every slow song. That was so embarrassing."  
"Why was that embarrassing?" Sonny asks.  
"Outside of the fact that you guys couldn't keep your hands off each other? Gross."  
"Your Papa is pretty sexy," Will says, winking at his husband.  
"Ewww. Dad. Seriously?"  
"It is true," Sonny adds. "My moves are pretty sexy."  
"Yes, they are, baby."  
"Can you guys not?"  
"What?"  
"Ugh. You two are so embarrassing. Why can't you act like normal parents?"  
"Do normal parents act like they are no longer in love?" Will questions.  
"Yes! Jessica's parents argue all the time. She doesn't have to deal with this."  
"Yes. But Jessica's parents are getting a divorce."  
"Fine. Sam's parents don't act like this."  
"Well, you just got lucky, didn't you?"  
"I wouldn't call this lucky," Arianna pouts.  
"You have two parents who not only love you, but also love each other," Will explains. "Do you have any idea what I would've given if my parents felt the same way when I was your age."  
"Not this story again," Arianna groans.  
"Sweetie, there is nothing wrong with being in love and showing that. I love your Dad so much and don't you think I should constantly let him know that."  
"I guess," Arianna sighs.  
"What if we didn't tell you and show you how much we loved you all the time. Wouldn't you doubt it?"  
"Yeah. I guess.I still think it's gross, though."  
"One day you will love somebody as much as I love your Papa. Then you will understand, baby girl."  
"But what if I don't ever find that? What if I end up like Mom?"  
"Sweetie, as long as you are patient you will find someone who loves you for exactly who you are. They take you, flaws and all."  
"Like you and Daddy?"  
"Yes. Like me and your Dad. We see each others faults and we love each other in spite of them."  
"Do you still love each other when you are fighting?"  
"Of course, Ari. Your Papa and I fight because we love each other. Because we want the best for each other and for you."  
"It's just, that's how it started with Jessica's parents. What if you guys decide that you don't love each other anymore? Doesn't that happen?"  
"Wow. You have a lot of questions today, baby girl."  
"Sorry," Arianna says, shrugging.  
"Yes, sweetie. It does happen. Some people do fall out of love. But we could never stop loving you. Nor do I think I could ever stop loving your father. I've loved him for so long that it's just like breathing."  
"Thanks, baby. I love you, too."  
"Ugh. Don't be gross again."  
"How about you tell us about the boy who tried to kiss you? Will we be seeing more of him? Do we need to have a talk about boys?"  
"Seriously?"  
"Absolutely. Who better to talk boys with than your two Dads?" Will smiles.  
"Okay. Did you really just have to make this weird?"  
"It's going to be weird no matter when we have this talk, sweetie. So what do we need to know about him? Starting with, are you going to call him?"  
"I don't know what you are talking about," Arianna shrugs, as the blush creeps back across her cheeks.  
"There it is!" Sonny exclaims.  
"Ugh. I don't know, Papa. I guess I like him."

* * *

After Arianna is in bed, Will and Sonny cuddle together in front of the fireplace drinking hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.  
"So, today was interesting," Will says, as his back is up against his husband's chest.  
"She was beautiful, wasn't she?"  
"She reminded me so much of Gabi."  
"Did you send her the pictures from tonight?"  
"Yeah. But I haven't heard back from her."  
"As much as I hate it, we have to keep trying with Gabi. For Ari."  
"I know. I just don't get it, baby. She is missing out on so much."  
"I know. But Ari has us. And she will always have us."  
"What did you think about all those questions in the car?"  
"She's curious, babe. I can't blame her for that. She's been hurt enough by her mom that it doesn't surprise me that she is afraid that we will leave her, too."  
"Will, that will never happen."  
"I know it won't. Because when we got married, we agreed that this was forever. That was my one condition."  
"I recall," Sonny smiles at the memory of Will proposing so many years ago.  
"And I didn't think it was possible, but I think I love you more now than I did when I proposed."  
"Good. Because I know I love you a little more each day. And I wouldn't trade our life for anything."  
"I wouldn't trade you for anything."  
"And I wouldn't trade our girl for anything."  
"So, what are we going to do about this boy?"  
"Don't you think she is too young to start dating?"  
"Yeah. But does that mean they can't hang out? Here? So I can keep an eye on him."  
"Somehow, I don't think Ari will be too thrilled with that idea."  
"But if she really likes him and this is the only way she can see him?"  
"When did our little girl get old enough to like boys?"  
"How are we old enough to have a daughter that likes boys?"  
"You are only as old as you feel, my love."  
"How about I show you how young I feel?"  
"So what did you have in mind?"  
"Meet me up in the bedroom and I will show you."  
"Hmmmm. You know I love you, right?"  
"I love you, too. Now it's time for us to celebrate our Valentine's Day."  
"Yes. And if I remember correctly, you said earlier today that you had some plans for me tonight."  
"You do and I did. But first, can we have one more dance before we head upstairs?"  
"You want to do the Chicken Dance again, Will?"  
"No. How about to listen to our song one more time?"  
"How awesome was it that they played that tonight?"  
"I have a little secret to share. I requested it."  
"Thank you, baby. I love you."  
Sonny stands up and pulls his husband to a standing position. Will grabs Sonny's hand and pulls him in close. Will rests his arms over Sonny's shoulder's with his fingers carding through his love's hair while the other man rests his hands on his husband's ass. They are chest to chest as Will softly sings their song into Sonny's ear and they sway slowly in front of the dying fire in the fireplace.


End file.
